Bowling Alone and Leaving Students Behind: Placing ASEE Civil Engineering Division Membership Trends in Context

Abstract

Membership in the Civil Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) peaked at 680 in 2008. At the time of writing, membership has decreased by approximately 25% from that peak. This trend is consistent with declines in most divisions in Professional Interest Council (PIC) IV, which includes the Civil Engineering Division; the only divisions seeing growth in PIC IV were First Year Programs and Minorities in Engineering. Overall, membership in ASEE has declined as well and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has also experienced declines in membership. Reports on membership organizations reveal that this problem is not unique to ASEE. More than a third of all membership-based organizations are not growing or shrinking, and nearly 40% of associations, like ASEE, shrunk or did not grow. Mature organizations (>10 years old) experienced the steepest declines in membership. Faculty membership in and involvement with professional societies is important for faculty and their students. From a student perspective, professional societies can bridge the gap from school to profession. From a faculty perspective, professional societies provide camaraderie and a space to share knowledge. Professional societies provide a mechanism for learned professions to establish standards of conduct, create bodies of knowledge, and other functions of self-governance. Modeling this behavior and activity is a vital part of the education of wellrounded engineering students.In this paper we seek to uncover the reasons why membership is declining in the Civil Engineering Division and propose solutions to halting this decline. We will examine the tactics used by the Civil Engineering Division to attract members and conduct interviews with existing members to find out why they joined and stayed, those holding leadership positions to determine why they took on these roles, and with potential members to uncover barriers to membership. In addition, we will seek to uncover any relationships between faculty composition and membership. This understanding will guide the Civil Engineering division in targeting their recruiting and programming to ensure that the division remains a vibrant, relevant organization for its members.